When you have a 96-player field, with constant matches from morning to night, there is going to be an embarrassment of riches when it comes to unbelievable shotmaking.
And that was certainly the case this week at the new and improved (and bigger) Cincinnati Open.
We sorted through more matches and shots than we can count, and selected our five favorite shots of the week.
Check them out below, with some additional color for context, and make sure to vote for your favorite at the bottom.
The 5 Best Shots of the Week
Zarazua Shows Off Foot Speed and Athleticism
What touch! Trailing 2 games to 1 in the decisive third set against Elena Rybakina, Mexico’s Renata Zarazua switched course to cover the World No. 10’s attempted wrong-footer and flicked a perfectly angled pass. Rybakina went on to win the match, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5.
Kudermetova’s Deadly Angled Backhand Pass (x2)
Veronika Kudermetova loves her angled backhand pass, and she stymied Belinda Bencic with it twice in their second-round match. She first unleashed it at 4-4, 15-all in the first set, then broke it out again at 3-3, 30-15 in the second. Just unfair. Kudermetova upset the 17th-seeded Bencic, 6-4, 7-6 (0), en route to the quarterfinals.
Svitolina’s Deft Drop Shot Ends Marathon Point
Elina Svitolina fittingly finished one of the longest rallies of the tournament in style. Up 1-0 in the third set of her second-round match against Barbora Krejcikova, the Ukrainian ended the relentless back-and-forth exchange with a deft drop shot. Krejcikova ended up winning the match, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Ito Is Unconventional, Original and Brilliant
Known for her unusual shot selection and casual-looking execution, Aoi Ito showed off some of her racquet wizardry in her third-round match against American Madison Keys. After hitting a soaring forehand to Keys’ backhand, which bounded nice and high for the Australian Open champion, the Japanese World No. 94 finished the point with a picture-perfect forehand slice pass down the line. The best part? She smiled from ear to ear after hitting the winner, savoring the moment. Truly one of a kind.
Keys did get the last laugh, though, winning 6-4, 6-0 with a thoroughly dominant second set.
Seidel Saves Match Point With Conviction
Coming into this tournament ranked 125th, 20-year-old Ella Seidel came through qualifying with nothing to lose, and she played like it, displaying a fearlessness and an ability to pull out brutally difficult matches.
That grit and tenacity was on full display in her third-round match against American McCartney Kessler. Facing a match point in the third-set tiebreak, the German drilled a forehand winner into the corner to stay alive. Just minutes later, she converted her first match point to make the fourth round in her WTA 1000 main-draw debut. And this came after Seidel came from 4-1 down in the third set to stun World No. 11 Emma Navarro.
Seidel’s dream week came to an end on Thursday after letting a lead slip away to Varvara Gracheva, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.